Why the Eagles' bye week is even more important than most think
The Philadelphia Eagles locked up the NFC’s No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs with a win over the New York Giants on Sunday. With the top spot in the NFC secured, the Eagles will catch up on some much-needed rest and recovery, but the bye week perks don’t stop there. Obviously the Eagles’ path […]
The Philadelphia Eagles locked up the NFC’s No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs with a win over the New York Giants on Sunday. With the top spot in the NFC secured, the Eagles will catch up on some much-needed rest and recovery, but the bye week perks don’t stop there.
Obviously the Eagles’ path to the Super Bowl is easier, needing just two wins to make an early February appearance in Glendale, Arizona. However, data suggests that teams with the luxury of a postseason bye have an incredible success rate when it comes to advancing to the Super Bowl.
Since 1990, 75.6 percent of Super Bowl participants have had a bye week. Now, things have changed since the NFL expanded the playoff field, cutting down to one bye per conference. However, that 32-year sample size cannot go ignored.
In the Eagles’ case, the No. 1 seed also happens to come with the best home-field advantage in football. That doesn’t hurt, either.
Head coach Nick Sirianni has put his group in a position to make noise in the playoffs if the Birds can get healthy over the bye. As for now, the Eagles can prop their feet up and wait for their next opponent to present itself.
Featured image via Bill Streicher – USA TODAY Sports
